ROCK HILL, S.C. — A heads up for parents in South Carolina, there are changes to the vaccine schedule for your kids.
THE QUESTION
Do the vaccine timeline changes from the South Carolina Department of Public Health mean kids have to get more vaccines than before?
OUR SOURCES
THE ANSWER
No, the vaccine timeline changes from the South Carolina Department of Public Health does not mean kids have to get more vaccines than before.
WHAT WE FOUND
Ahead of the 2024-25 school year, the South Carolina Department of Public Health is reminding parents and caregivers to make sure kids are up to date with all required vaccines and to familiarize themselves with the updated School and Childcare Exclusion List.
Current vaccination requirements for the 2024-25 school year are available on the DPH website. Updates for this school year include:
- Fourth graders are required to have two doses of Hepatitis A vaccine with both doses received on or after the first birthday and separated by at least six months.
- Ninth graders are now required to have one dose of Tdap vaccine on or after their 10th birthday.
- 10th graders are now required to have two doses of Varicella. A child with a positive history of the disease is considered immune and is exempt from this requirement.
- 12th graders are now required to have three doses of oral and/or inactivated polio vaccine with at least one dose received on or after the 4th birthday.
According to the South Carolina Department of Public Health, none of these are newly required vaccines. Instead, the changes reflect the fact that more grade levels are being added.
“We have not added any required vaccines to the to the schedule in at least the last several years, so it is just the age at which people are now being required to get them,” Dr. Traxler said.
“There is a reason why these vaccines have been scheduled at specific times and it's so that your immunity is induced as a certain age,” said Dr. Paxtor.
Children enrolled in school and childcare are required to be current on certain vaccinations at the start of each school year. According to the South Carolina Department of Public Health, this helps protect the health of children, teachers and school staff who are in group settings every day. The department notes vaccines are one of the most-successful public health interventions for reducing disease spread and safeguarding against vaccine-preventable illnesses and complications.
Dr. Traxler says if you haven’t already gotten your kids' vaccines, you’ll want to book an appointment soon. If you can’t get in before the start of school, there is a grace period.
“It's just up to a 30-day kind of grace period, but they do need to communicate with the school about that. They do need to provide what documentation they have. And that sometimes the school may have them fill out a form just attesting that they're getting it.”
To find a vaccine provider near you, visit DPH’s Find a Vaccines for Children Provider tool. Appointments for immunizations can also be made at many of DPH’s county health departments by calling 1-855-472-3432 or online using Web Chat.
While COVID-19 and flu vaccines are not required, DPH and the CDC continue to recommend that everyone six-months and older receive their COVID-19 and flu vaccination to protect themselves and others. Flu vaccines for the current season typically become available in late September in many pharmacies, and an updated COVID-19 vaccine is also expected in the fall.
According to DPH, during the 2023-24 school year, there were 294 outbreaks of vaccine preventable diseases reported from school and childcare settings. 290 of which were due to COVID-19 or influenza. The department says the low number of other vaccine-preventable outbreaks shows the effectiveness of the vaccines required for attendance in schools and childcare settings.
Each year, DPH also publishes the School and Childcare Exclusion List, which explains how long sick kids and staff should stay out of school or childcare, and what is needed before they return. The updated 2024-2025 list is available online in both English and Spanish.
Contact Meghan Bragg at mbragg@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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